Then, after singing a psalm, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
This verse shows the conclusion of the Last Supper and Jesus’ way toward Gethsemane, a place of prayer and suffering (the Garden of Gethsemane was located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in an area considered part of the mountain). The phrase “after singing psalms” recalls the traditional Passover order, in which Psalms 113–118 were sung at the end of the meal, praising God’s deliverance. Thus Jesus and the disciples, with those hymns of praise, bring the old Passover feast to its close, moving toward the fulfillment of the New Passover—the cross. The words “they went out to the Mount of Olives” have deep symbolic meaning: the Mount of Olives is the place where the olive is pressed to yield oil, just as Jesus would be “pressed” there by spiritual suffering, giving the oil of mercy to humanity. This step shows that Christ goes willingly toward his suffering, to prepare through prayer for the sacrifice by which he will seal the New Covenant.